Monday, April 18th, 2016 at 2:00pm

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A hotel a decade in the making could finally start rising this year near the Paseo del Norte and Interstate 25 interchange.

The Springhill Suites by Marriott could break ground this fall, a new $12 million project that will further bolster Total Management Systems’ hotel portfolio.

The Albuquerque-based company — which already has five hotels in Albuquerque and a total of eight statewide — initially started planning the Springhill Suites in 2006 but held off during the recession, the ensuing Paseo del Norte reconstruction and then through the completion of other projects.

“Once (the Paseo del Norte project) was completed, we had a couple other projects under construction and finished that up and now we’re taking it up again,” said Prakash Sundaram of Total Management, whose company last year worked with partners from the Allen Sigmon Real Estate Group to finish and open the Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel near the Big-I.

The new Springhill Suites will be a four-story, 92-room all-suites hotel representing the latest prototype for the Springhill brand, Sundaram said. It will have what he called a “contemporary” look and amenities meant to appeal to a younger generation of travelers, including an indoor pool and a more generously equipped fitness center.

“In the old days we used to put in two treadmills and elliptical and call it a fitness center,” he said. “Now we’re doing full size with weight stations and yoga mats.”

The plan is to build along Holly NE, between Interstate 25 and San Pedro. Sundaram said the area has several existing hotels that do well, giving him confidence in the potential of a new option.

Hotel business in the city has trended upward in recent years. According to Smith Travel Report, Albuquerque’s hotel occupancy rates have risen each year since 2012, and the average daily rate is also climbing.

Sundaram said those trends have played out within the Total Management Albuquerque portfolio.

“We’ve seen about three consecutive years of increases, so we’re feeling pretty good about the market as far as hotels go,” Sundaram said.